High-speed passenger rail service on dedicated tracks along the Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 corridors will cost $22 billion and likely require up to 50-percent funding by Colorado taxpayers, a Rocky Mountain Rail Authority (RMRA) spokesman said this week.

The RMRA's Harry Dale, speaking ahead of today's release of a $1.5 million feasibility study funded mostly by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), said the higher cost of building dedicated lines rather than using existing freight lines or right-of-ways makes long-term financial sense.